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Nicholas Benedict
Nicholas Benedict is a distinguished man who is affected by narcolepsy, a condition that causes him to fall asleep whenever he experiences strong emotion, especially laughter. He is the main character of The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict and a very important central character in The Mysterious Benedict Society ''trilogy. Appearance Mr. Benedict has bright green eyes, white hair and a very bulbous nose that is described as a vegetable more than once. He is generally unshaven or, when he remembers to shave, covered in cuts because of his haste. He is an average looking man, with an intelligence high above average. He is always seen wearing a green plaid suit, or something else plaid, because it supposedly calms down his narcolepsy—he falls asleep all the time due to strong emotions, such as being very joyous—although, since ''The Prisoner's Dilemma, after his narcolepsy was cured by Constance, he supposedly wears several other outfits. In The Mysterious Benedict Society's companion book, Mr. Benedict is revealed to have had blond hair when he was younger. He is very likely over 100 years old, as he was 9 in The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, and he served in the navy, which didn't really grow or do anything until World War 2. Violet Hopefield's brother died in a war, most likely World War 1. He was about 30-40 in World War 2 as well(Phil Noland said he was about 30-40 years old in the war and Mr. Benedict is about the same age as him). Therefore he seems to be over 100 years old. Personality Mr. Benedict is a jovial, yet serious man who enjoys laughing a great deal, even though he suffers from narcolepsy, a disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable attacks of sleep. Due to his narcolepsy, his adopted daughters—Constance Contraire, Rhonda Kazembe, and Number Two—make sure he is seated, in case he has a random attack, which he often does. He is a technical genius, an excellent chess player, a wise mentor, and a wonderful friend who is very trustworthy and would rather give his own life than let someone he loves get hurt. Mr. Benedict is an honorable character, and very humble. Mr. Benedict is a very avid reader and a quick learner. He is disorganized and sometimes absent-minded, usually forgetting to water his potted violet. He has great sympathy for children, especially young orphans, because of his childhood. This background partially influences his conviction that children should be with their family and protected from involvement in dangerous events, and his care for those around him. Abilities Mr. Benedict is a technological and strategic genius. His areas of specialties include acoustics, waveforms, hypnosis, puzzles, and the human brain. He is also skilled at predicting the behavior of children such as Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance, and has a knowledge of military strategy. Mr. Benedict has ties to the government established during his time in the Navy, although he was briefly discredited during Curtain's Emergency. History Early Childhood Mr. Nicholas Benedict lived with his twin brother Mr. Curtain with his parents in the Netherlands, then his parents died when he was very young. ''The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict'' At age nine, Nicholas moved from his previous orphanage to the orphanage that is the setting of the novel. Navy Service Mr. Benedict deciphered coded messages for the U.S. Navy, which he won an award for, as mentioned in the companion book Before the Emergency Pre-Society Before the events of The Mysterious Benedict Society, Mr. Benedict begins to understand that the Emergency is caused by secret subliminal messages transferred via radio and television into the minds of people, and the disappearances of several government workers are dismissed through the manipulation of these messages. In his research, he discovers that the Sender is Ledroptha Curtain, famous for his tidal turbines, and that the neural messages are delivered by the voices of children. Mr. Benedict sets up a series of tests designed to identify gifted children willing and able to stop the Sender. A few children were able to pass these tests, Rhonda Kazembe and Number Two among them, but due to the scarcity of test passers, the ones that accepted his offer were unable to be active agents, because they matured before a team could be assembled. ''The Mysterious Benedict Society Mr. Benedict continues to administer his series of tests to find gifted children to assist him in stopping Ledroptha Curtain, who is carefully plotting to rule the world. He places an advertisement in the Stonewall Times, and among the applicants arrive four very gifted children that he could have only hoped for—Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington, Kate Wetherall, and Constance Contraire. Upon their completion of his tests, Benedict hosts the four at his house. He explains to the children that he has narcolepsy, a disorder which causes him to fall asleep when he feels a strong wave of emotion, and informs them of the nefarious schemes of the Sender and the danger everyone is in. After all of the four decide to join the team, Mr. Benedict sends them on their mission to pose as students at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened to investigate and stop Mr. Curtain. While the children are at the Institute, they communicate with him and his team through purposely vague messages in Morse Code. By deciphering one such riddle, they discover that Mr. Curtain is his twin brother, a fact which Benedict himself realized when he observed Mr. Curtain through his telescope. Eventually, he gives them the advice to make their final move to stop Mr. Curtain - leaving it up to the children to decide what that move actually is. At the end, he comes swooping in with Rhonda and Number Two to help disable the Whisperer. He stays behind to finish off the Whisperer because of it only obeying Curtain's commands (and that of his twin). The others are forced to leave without him, but take a sleeping Mr. Curtain with them. Mr. Benedict follows them disguised as his brother, misleading his brother's henchmen to join his friends, though Mr. Curtain has escaped. He expresses his gratitude that Reynie could discern him from Mr. Curtain to spare him being shot by Milligan's tranquilizer gun. Our heroes escape and stay at Mr. Benedict's home until their parents are contacted. Mr. Benedict eventually adopts Constance. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey In ''The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, the children travel during the one year anniversary of the events of the first novel to visit Mr. Benedict and his family. To celebrate, Mr. Benedict had planned a surprise—a series of riddles and clues—for them that would lead them across a few continents. However, when the children arrived at his home, they were told by Rhonda that Number Two and Mr. Benedict had been kidnapped by Mr. Curtain. Eventually, they manage to save Mr. Benedict and return to his home safely. ''The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma'' The children are starting to feel oppressed in Mr. Benedict's home because they are rarely allowed in the fenced-in backyard and never are allowed to run errands with the adults. This is for their own safety, of course, but they still feel trapped. Mr. Benedict provides challenges to keep their minds sharp, including the prisoner's dilemma scenario, which is where the book starts. Trivia *Mr. Benedict's first name, Nicholas, is not revealed until the second book, unless you were able to figure out the code in the back pages of the first book. Category:Characters Category:Orphans Category:The Benedicts